A Marriage To Murder For: A page-turning cozy murder mystery from E.V. Hunter

By E.V. Hunter

"A thrilling murder mystery that kept me turning the pages. Well worth a read." Bestselling author T.A. Williams.

The high society wedding…

Social media influencer Crystabel Hughes is determined her wedding to Giles Preston Smythe will be the talk of the town. No matter the cost or the upset, nothing will stop this wedding!

A cheating groom…

But for Alexi Ellis and the rest of the staff at Hopgood Hall, Crystabel’s demands are becoming increasingly extreme. And when Alexi spots the groom getting up close and personal with one of the bridesmaids, she fears trouble is only a bouquet toss away.

A killer bride caught red-handed?

And Alexi’s fears are confirmed when the groom is found dead on the night before the wedding, stabbed through the heart - the person holding the dagger. his beloved bride-to be Crystabel.

Hopgood Hall doesn’t need any more bad press, but the race is on to find the killer and close the case before Crystable live streams her dilemma.

Can Alexi, Jack and Cosmo find out why Giles was killed? And, more importantly, can they stop the killer before they strike again?

Perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Frances Evesham and Emma Davies.

Readers love the Hopgood Hall series!

'If you want to dip your toe into the cosy crime genre then this is the book for you! It is incredible. I loved every word and Cosmo the cat is just hilarious' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review

'A Date To Die For would make a fabulous early evening television series. I really enjoyed it and look forward to much more from E V Hunter'⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review

'The author certainly knows how to grab the reader's attention and draw them into what proves to be one heck of a story'⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boldwood Books
• Release date: Sep 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9781804835838

E.V. Hunter

E.V. Hunter has written a great many successful regency romances as Wendy Soliman and revenge thrillers as Evie Hunter. She is now redirecting her talents to produce cosy murder mysteries. For the past twenty years she has lived the life of a nomad, roaming the world on interesting forms of transport, but has now settled back in the UK.

Book preview

1

‘Another scorching summer. What is going on with the weather? It’s not at all British.’ Alexi Ellis fanned her face with her hand and retreated further beneath the enveloping parasol on the terrace of Hopgood Hall, the boutique hotel in which she was a minority shareholder. A torpid breeze agitated the hot air like a rampaging hairdryer, sapping her energy. ‘Perhaps we should consider installing a swimming pool if this is the way it’s going to be in future, what with global warming and all.’

Alexi’s friend and co-owner of the hotel, Cheryl Hopgood, held her baby daughter Verity on her knee, jiggling her up and down and making her giggle. ‘We are only just about in profit,’ she said, striking a note of caution. ‘I enjoy not having to juggle the bills, deciding which ones to pay and which ones to ignore, so let’s not get too ambitious. Summers as hot as this one may not endure. It’s never safe to predict the English weather. Anyway, punters don’t come to Lambourn to swim.’

Alexi conceded the point with a nod. ‘True enough.’

‘Just enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts, which won’t be for long.’

Alexi grinned, aware that the stag party they were preparing to host would indeed be raucous as the groom enjoyed his final few hours of freedom. ‘That child will be walking soon.’ Alexi grinned at her goddaughter as she tried to wiggle off Cheryl’s lap. ‘She’s as impatient to embrace life as her father.’

‘Give her a chance. She’s only seven months old.’ Cheryl paused. ‘You’re not serious about the swimming pool, are you?’

Alexi smiled at her feral cat Cosmo, who’d positioned himself beneath the fountain in the courtyard so that water splashed onto his upturned belly. A black cat with piercing hazel eyes flecked with silver, he clearly felt the heat as much as the rest of them. Toby, Cheryl’s little terrier, who was half Cosmo’s size, was devoted to the cat and had flopped down beside him in the partial shade.

‘No, I guess not,’ Alexi replied, responding to Cheryl’s question. ‘But you must admit, we’ve done well.’

Cheryl nodded with apparent reluctance. ‘It’s hard for me to think that way when our popularity is partly due to the ghouls who want to visit murder central.’

Cheryl was referring to the murder of a contestant in a celebrity cooking contest that had been held at the hotel during the winter. The show had topped the TV ratings, ensuring a steady flow of clients for Hopgood Hall. Well, that and the fact that Alexi and her partner, private detective Jack Maddox, had been instrumental in solving that crime as well as the murder of a woman in Lambourn a few months prior to that. Since no one could recall the last time that anyone had been murdered in a village dominated by racehorses, it wasn’t surprising that the curious were drawn to the area, bursting with conspiracy theories.

Alexi was an investigative journalist, or had been until her position on the Sentinel was terminated. In retrospect, it was the best thing that could have happened to her, although at the time, it had seemed like the ultimate betrayal. Her editor in chief and former lover, Patrick Vaughan, had known that redundancies were in the offing but hadn’t given her the heads-up. Instead, he’d tried to make her take a lower position. She’d refused and forced a generous settlement out of the paper.

Patrick had continued to pursue her, attempting to lure her back to London. He and Jack hated one another on sight but it was Jack whom Alexi now lived with. Although living with was an exaggeration, she reasoned. Jack’s private investigation service had been enhanced by the publicity that the TV murder had created. He seemed to be working away from Lambourn more and more and was often gone for an entire week at a time. Alexi was cool with that. She’d gotten badly burned with Patrick and wasn’t about to give her entire heart to another man. Not now.

Perhaps not ever.

Besides, she was busy with her literary commitments: a book on the inside view of the TV murder and various articles that she’d offered to the press. One such article, completed whilst she’d still been in London, was about homeless people. She’d visited a group of them beneath the arches several times, which is where she’d encountered Cosmo. For reasons that Alexi hadn’t understood at the time and still didn’t, the anti-social cat who disliked and mistrusted people in general had made an exception in her case and decided to adopt her. He was proving to be a very good judge of character. Although he’d mellowed, if he took against someone then Alexi had learned to trust his instincts. He had been banned from the TV set because he tended to attack people’s ankles for his own amusement but had also become a star of the show and was another reason why people flocked to the hotel.

‘Don’t talk of murder in front of my daughter.’ Drew Hopgood came up to them, moving silently for such a large man, and kissed both his wife and his little girl.

‘It’s all anyone around here does talk about,’ Cheryl replied. ‘But if it keeps the wolf from the door then who am I to complain?’

‘This weather is just what we need for the celebrity wedding of the year,’ Drew added, flopping down on the chair beside his wife, staring up at a crystal-clear sky and scooping Verity into his arms. He dangled her above his head, making the baby gurgle with laughter. ‘Thank you weather gods. Nothing will go wrong this time.’

Drew nodded in the direction of the organised action coming from the annex where the wedding of Crystabel Hennessey, minor television celebrity, beautiful socialite, online influencer and bridezilla extraordinaire was to be married in a few days’ time to Giles Preston-Smythe, son of the most prominent trainer in the valley of the racehorse.

‘It had better not!’ Cheryl grinned. ‘Although even I have been close to strangling Crystabel once or twice. How hard can it be for one woman to make up her mind and stick to it?’

‘Fortunately, Marcel doesn’t take any of her nonsense,’ Alexi replied, referring to the hotel’s celebrity chef, a natural on the small screen, who had been originally suspected of murdering the unfortunate contestant who’d met an untimely end. His innocence had only served to increase his popularity, which was another reason why the hotel was doing so well. Marcel’s tantrums were usually public and almost always contrived to enhance his reputation as the ultimate temperamental chef. The punters lapped it up. ‘She’s met her match there.’

‘Oh, here’s Isobel.’ Alexi raised a hand half-heartedly as the wedding planner approached their group. ‘What’s up this time?’

‘Isn’t it hot?’ Isobel sat on a stool and removed her jacket. Why she was wearing one when the temperature had to be in the high eighties, Alexi was at a loss to understand. ‘I’ve been watching the weather forecast like a hawk. A week to go before the big one and there’s talk of the weather breaking: storms in the offing.’

‘It wouldn’t dare,’ Alexi replied.

‘You’d think not but I guess the elements aren’t afraid of Crystabel.’

‘Then they’re braver than me,’ Drew said with a theatrical shudder.

‘We have a massive marquee,’ Cheryl pointed out, indicating the structure with a wave of one hand. It was an extension leading off from the annexe, home to a flamboyant floral bower beneath which the couple would exchange their vows. ‘No one will get wet and have their hats ruined.’

‘Actually, that’s what I came to talk to you about.’ Isobel paused, looking fraught. ‘Crystabel would like the marque to be set up facing the other way. She thinks the photographs will be better with that orientation.’

Drew laughed. ‘Impossible. We’ve already explained that to her, several times. If the weather remains fine and the sides are rolled up, people will want to stroll into the courtyard not walk into the bloody fountain.’

Isobel rolled her eyes. ‘I realise that but Crystabel really is a nightmare. She enjoys throwing her weight around and is quite the most demanding, self-centred bride I’ve worked with, which is saying something.’

‘Why do you do this job if it creates so much stress?’ Alexi asked.

‘Why does anyone do anything?’ Isobel shrugged. ‘I kind of fell into it by accident and despite everything, it’s a good living. For the record, not all brides are so demanding.’ She smiled. ‘Just most of them, but I can handle the odd tantrum.’

‘I do wonder if Giles knows what he’s letting himself in for,’ Cheryl said. ‘Unless he exerts himself, and he’s done precious little of that over the wedding preparations as far as I’ve seen, then Crystabel will run rings around him once they’re married.’

‘I heard him and Simon Morton, his best man, in the bar the other night,’ Drew said. ‘They didn’t realise I was behind the partition, sorting the wine delivery. No one else was anywhere near them and Simon was having a real go at Giles, telling him it wasn’t too late to back out.’

‘Hardly the role of a best man,’ Alexi said.

‘They go back years, I think,’ Isobel said. ‘Did Simon say why he thought Giles was making a mistake?’

‘Well.’ Drew rolled his eyes dramatically. ‘As you know, I’m not one to gossip, but…’

‘Come on, don’t keep us in suspense,’ Alexi urged, laughing at his theatrics.

‘Why am I only just hearing this?’ Cheryl asked at the same time.

‘It seems that Simon and Crystabel were an item for a while.’

‘No!’ Alexi and Cheryl cried in unison.

‘I rather like Simon. You’d think he’d have more sense,’ Alexi remarked.

‘Clearly he does if he dumped her,’ Cheryl replied.

‘I gather they went on holiday somewhere exotic. Something happened, Simon didn’t say what, but that was the beginning of the end.’

‘Presumably Crystabel and Giles knew one another through Simon,’ Cheryl said.

‘And if Simon dumped her then Crystabel would have been hurt so targeted Giles in an effort to invoke Simon’s jealousy,’ Isobel added, putting her professionalism aside and joining in the wild speculation.

‘Well anyway, there’ll be trouble in paradise before too long,’ Alexi said. ‘If I was a betting person, I’d give it two years max.’

‘Good for repeat business,’ Cheryl remarked to Isobel.

‘You joke but you’d be surprised how often that situation arises,’ Isobel replied.

‘Just emphasise to your client that even if we could change the orientation of the marque, it’s too late,’ Drew said. ‘The people responsible for putting it up have been and gone. No one else can touch it. Health and safety, insurance and all that.’

‘Ah, that’s a good way out for me.’ Isobel nodded her thanks. ‘I don’t think Crystabel was serious. She just likes to be dramatic.’

‘She’ll be here later with her retinue,’ Drew reminded them all. The bride and her four bridesmaids were due to move into the hotel a few days ahead of the wedding and effectively take it over. Hairdressers, make-up people, dressers and so forth were all booked to do a trial run ahead of the big day.

‘But the guys have first dibs. They’ll be here for their stag night tomorrow,’ Cheryl added. ‘Our barman has ordered in extra supplies.’

‘They’re at Salisbury races before they come here,’ Alexi said. ‘I gather Giles’s father has one of his best horses running. If it wins then it’ll be one hell of a party.’

‘It will be either way.’ Drew waggled his brows. ‘Boys will be boys. It’ll be Giles’s last opportunity to go wild before he settles down to a life of domestic disharmony.’

‘You are such a cynic,’ Cheryl chided.

‘Well darling, I’m only saying what the rest of you’re thinking.’

‘I’ll take them over a bunch of women on a hen night any time,’ Cheryl said with feeling.

‘I can’t see Crystabel getting legless and losing control no matter what they do,’ Alexi said. ‘She’s always aware of the camera lens. She has cameras following her around, as we all know, preserving the build-up to the big day for the edification of the viewing public and her loyal fans lap it up, if the viewing figures are anything to go by.’

‘The coverage is as fake as her tan,’ Cheryl said dismissively. ‘She gets to say what’s shown and what isn’t and surprise, surprise, none of her tantrums make the small screen.’

‘Which doesn’t leave much else,’ Isobel added.

‘Where is the hen night taking place?’ Alexi asked, curious to know what Crystabel had planned. Probably something sophisticated. Definitely not the ubiquitous pub crawl.

Isobel shrugged. ‘Some posh restaurant in Newbury, I think. Thankfully, organising hen nights isn’t part of my remit. I gather the ladies are having a spa day followed by a slap-up meal.’

‘Sounds as predictable as hell and not a lot of fun,’ Alexi replied.

Cosmo stirred himself and trotted across the courtyard mewing, tail aloft and swishing from side to side.

‘What on earth…’ Alexi turned her head, curious to know what had made her anti-social cat stir himself and look so animated. ‘Ah, I might have known.’ A spontaneous smile sprang to her lips when Cosmo wound himself around Jack’s legs, rubbing his big head against Jack’s shin. ‘He cares more about Jack than he does about me.’ But her complaint sounded half-hearted, even to her own ears.

‘You’ve said it often enough yourself,’ Drew replied, grinning. ‘He’s a good judge of character.’

‘What are you doing here?’ Alexi asked, turning her face towards Jack as he bent to kiss her. ‘I thought you were entangled in an embezzlement case in Swindon and couldn’t get away.’

‘Solved it,’ he said, flopping down on the chair beside Alexi. ‘God, it’s hot! No!’ he added, when Cosmo leapt athletically from the ground and landed on Jack’s lap with a surprisingly soft thud. ‘Have a heart, big guy. I’m already overheating and you’re the equivalent of a furry electric blanket.’

Alexi laughed. ‘You two need to get a room.’

‘We were just discussing the wisdom of hosting a society wedding and trying to decide if the rewards are worth all the drama,’ Drew said. ‘Poor Isobel is considering a career change.’

‘Just so long as we get paid and they don’t do any damage,’ Cheryl said. ‘The publicity will make it all worthwhile.’ She grimaced. ‘Probably.’

‘Ah, there you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’

Isobel groaned at the sound of Crystabel’s voice. ‘Hasn’t she heard of that modern contraption called a telephone?’ she muttered to no one in particular, standing and plastering on a smile as Crystabel strode across the terrace to join them, her four-inch heels tapping on the flagstones. ‘Crystabel, what a lovely surprise.’

Alexi and Jack shared a smile when they noticed Isobel’s fingers crossed behind her back. Cosmo leapt from Jack’s lap and stalked up to Crystabel, teeth barred in a hiss.

‘Yew! Get that creature away from me!’ She flapped her hands at Cosmo. Alexi took her time calling him off.

‘He’s showing his affection,’ Drew said, clearly struggling not to laugh.

‘It’s you I came to see.’ Crystabel pushed past Isobel and homed in on Drew, sending wary glances in Cosmo’s direction. ‘You will have to keep that creature under lock and key on the wedding day,’ she said, clearly struggling to regain both her poise and the upper hand. ‘I won’t have him terrorising my guests.’

‘It’s just you he appears to have taken against for some inexplicable reason, Crystabel,’ Alexi replied sweetly, taking her turn to cross her fingers to negate the lie. ‘But don’t worry, he won’t be on the prowl on the big day.’

Still with the baby in his arms, Drew remained seated and kept his gaze focused on his daughter.

‘Something I can do for you?’ he asked with the minimum of civility when Crystabel pouted and returned her attention to him. Much as Drew appreciated the business that the wedding would bring in, Alexi knew that he’d taken a dislike to Crystabel’s autocratic behaviour – they all had – and refused to pander to her whims.

‘Indeed. A change of plan. We’ve decided to come back here tomorrow evening after our day at the spa.’

‘Your fiancé is having his stag party here,’ Drew replied. ‘It’s all arranged. Surely, you’re not intending to crash it?’

‘They can have the bar.’ Crystal waved a dismissive hand. ‘We’ll have the upstairs lounge and your nice chef can prepare a champagne buffet for us.’

Alexi and Cheryl looked at one another, at a loss for words. Drew passed Verity to Cheryl and slowly stood up, towering over the bride-to-be.

‘We have a full sitting in the restaurant tomorrow,’ he said calmly, ‘so the buffet might not be possible. We don’t have enough rooms to accommodate your party either. Your future husband has booked them all.’

‘I happen to know that isn’t true.’ The diminutive blonde glowered at Drew. ‘Giles only has half a dozen in his party. If they double up then there will be enough rooms for the rest of us.’

‘Have you asked him if he’s willing to do that?’

‘That isn’t necessary. Giles won’t mind.’ She huffed, clearly not appreciating being challenged by the hired help. No cameras were around and the butter-wouldn’t-melt attitude that she saved for the small screen was replaced with the fiery determination of a spoiled woman accustomed to getting what she wanted. ‘I had hoped for more cooperation from you than this.’

‘Just as a matter of interest,’ Alexi remarked, ‘why do you want to merge your hen party with your fiancé’s stag? The boys won’t be able to let their hair down if there are ladies around.’

‘I want the cameras to feature both,’ she replied shortly. ‘It will be nice for viewers to make the comparison.’

Seriously!

Drew reluctantly agreed to her demands but quoted an outrageous price for the buffet. Crystabel agreed to it without batting an eyelid. Drew, Alexi knew, would confirm the price in an email to her that would also be sent to Isobel.

‘What was all that about?’ Cheryl asked as Crystabel tottered off again, mobile phone pressed to her ear as she loudly berated someone about some hitch or other that was probably a product of her imagination.

‘She wants to control the boys,’ Jack said. ‘If I was a betting man, I’d wager that she and her entourage won’t stay upstairs for long. They’ll venture down and mingle with the stag party, curtailing their wild activities and ensuring that Crystabel remains the centre of attention.’

Cheryl sighed. ‘Poor Giles.’

‘Poor Giles nothing,’ Alexi replied briskly. ‘If he doesn’t man up then he’s only got himself to blame for a life of being dictated to.’

‘He doesn’t strike me as the type to put up with being told what to do,’ Jack remarked. ‘Not that I know him well but still, he seems quite forceful.’

‘Perhaps he really loves her?’ Isobel suggested hopefully. ‘Opposites are supposed to attract. I see it all the time in my line of work.’

‘Someone has to love her,’ Alexi muttered.

‘I suppose he enjoys being a TV star as well, otherwise…’ Cheryl jiggled the baby in arms as her words trailed off.

‘I’ll go and talk to Marcel about these last-minute changes,’ Drew said, grimacing. ‘Wish me luck.’

2

‘They’re well oiled already,’ Jack remarked to Alexi when the stags arrived at the hotel from their race meeting, loud and out for a good time. Giles’s father’s horse had won, so the guys were quids in and high spirited.

‘This isn’t going to end well,’ Alexi replied, aware that the ladies were already ensconced in the upstairs lounge. ‘I think Crystabel has an agenda that doesn’t allow for the boys to get legless.’

‘Ha!’ Jack rolled his eyes. ‘Good luck with stopping them. It’s a stag and getting wasted is kinda the point.’

‘I know that but…’

‘Cosmo’s out of harm’s way in here with us.’ In the private kitchen, Jack nodded towards cat and dog to emphasise his point. ‘He can’t bite any ankles or cause any of his usual mayhem.’

Cosmo looked up from Toby’s basket and gave an indignant meow.

Alexi laughed. ‘That cat is a prima donna.’

‘No question, but he has character.’

‘I can’t put my finger on the bad feeling I have about this.’ She paused, watching the guys through the window as they spilled out onto the terrace, now minus jackets and ties but with drinks in hand. There was a great deal of laughter and raucous comments. Someone emerged from the bar with a tray of shots which were downed with aplomb. Giles and Simon drained their glasses and slammed them down along with everyone else, then withdrew to the side lines, looking intense. The rest of the party didn’t seem to notice. Someone shouted, ‘Dead ants’ and the entire group fell to the floor, wiggling their arms and legs.

‘What on earth are they doing?’ Alexi asked, looking perplexed.

Jack shrugged. ‘Being dead ants, obviously.’

‘Why?’

‘Because it’s a stag. No one said stags were rational. If they were, no one would enjoy themselves.’

‘Dead ants don’t move.’

Jack laughed. ‘Stop it!’

‘I thought this was supposed to be Giles’s last hurrah,’ Alexi said, pointing to a cameraman unobtrusively recording the events for posterity.

Jack frowned. ‘Another example of Crystabel’s controlling character, I have no doubt.’

‘I wonder what they’re in such intense conversation about,’ Alexi remarked, her journalist curiosity piqued as she pointed towards the groom and his best man. They had moved round a corner that concealed them from the rest of the stags but gave Alexi and Jack a clear view of them from the kitchen window.

‘Perhaps Simon is launching a final attempt to get Giles to reassess his options now that his time is almost here.’

‘Aren’t you supposed to be out there? You were invited.’

‘I was hoping no one would remember.’

‘Even so, I would love to know why there’s so much tension.’ Alexi wound her arms around Jack’s neck and kissed him. ‘I’m sure it’s not a product of my imagination.’

‘That’s blackmail, woman!’

She batted her lashes at him, making him laugh. ‘Whatever it takes.’

Jack rolled his eyes. ‘The things I do for this place.’

‘Have fun.’ Alexi frowned, wishing she could shake her feeling of foreboding. ‘And don’t get so plastered that you forget what you’re out there for.’

‘Stop worrying.’ Jack gave her a reassuring kiss. ‘I know you’re concerned for the hotel’s reputation but lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice. Besides, Crystabel might be a pain in the posterior but at least her main objective is to look good and gain publicity, which can only reflect well upon Hopgood Hall.’

Alexi nodded, failing to look convinced. ‘I hear you.’

‘I gather she’s both liked